Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Notices 60863 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

Dated: September 21, 2010. 

Christine Gurland, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24693 Filed 9–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Safety Advisory 2010–02 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory; 

Signal Recording Devices for HighwayRail Grade Crossing Active Warning 

Systems that are Interconnected with 

Highway Traffic Signal Systems. 

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety 

Advisory 2010–02 to address Safety 

Recommendations I–96–10 and I–96–11, 

issued by the National Transportation 

Safety Board (NTSB) that relate to 

railroad and highway signal recording 

devices at highway-rail grade crossings 

equipped with active warning systems 

that are interconnected with highway 

traffic signal systems. This safety 

advisory recommends that States, local 

highway authorities, and railroads 

install, maintain, and upgrade railroad 

and highway traffic signal recording 

devices at these types of grade crossings. 

This safety advisory also recommends 

that States, local highway authorities, 

and railroads conduct comprehensive 

periodic joint inspections of highway 

traffic signal pre-emption 

interconnections and use information 

obtained from any railroad and highway 

traffic signal recording devices during 

those inspections. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron 

Ries, Staff Director, Highway-Rail Grade 

Crossing & Trespasser Prevention 

Division, FRA, RRS–23, Mail Stop 25, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 

493–6285); Thomas McFarlin, Staff 

Director, Signal & Train Control 

Division, FRA, RRS–13, Mail Stop 25, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 

493–6203); or Kathy Shelton, Office of 

Chief Counsel, FRA, RCC–11, Mail Stop 

10, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 

493–6063). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In Safety 

Recommendation I–96–10, the NTSB 

recommended that DOT require the use 

and maintenance of railroad and 

highway traffic signal recording devices 

at all new and improved highway-rail 

grade crossings equipped with active 

warning systems that are interconnected 

with highway traffic signal systems. 

These devices should be capable of 

recording sufficient parameters to allow 

railroad and highway personnel to 

readily determine that the highway 

traffic signals and railroad active 

warning systems are operating properly 

and in a coordinated manner. The NTSB 

further recommended that DOT require 

the use of information obtained from 

these railroad and highway traffic signal 

recording devices during 

comprehensive and periodic joint 

inspections. 

In Safety Recommendation I–96–11, 

the NTSB recommended that DOT 

require the retention or upgrading of 

existing recording devices installed at 

highway-rail grade crossings equipped 

with active railroad warning systems 

that are interconnected with highway 

traffic signal systems. In addition, the 

NTSB recommended that DOT require 

maintenance of these recording devices 

and the use of information obtained 

from the devices during comprehensive 

and periodic joint inspections. 

Highway traffic signal pre-emption 

interconnections, when present, play a 

critical role in the proper functioning of 

a highway-rail grade crossing active 

warning system. By changing the 

sequence of the traffic signal to allow 

highway traffic to exit the crossing prior 

to the arrival of a train, they can prevent 

vehicle entrapment on the highway-rail 

grade crossing. Also, the changed traffic 

signal sequence prevents conflicting 

visual traffic control messages for 

motorists approaching highway-rail 

grade crossings located in close 

proximity to highway traffic control 

signals (i.e., a proceed highway traffic 

signal display into a nearby highwayrail grade crossing active warning 

system which is activated to indicate 

the approach or occupancy of a train). 

In order to facilitate the proper 

functioning of the highway traffic signal 

pre-emption interconnection, 49 CFR 

234.261 requires that railroads test each 

highway traffic signal pre-emption 

interconnection at least once each 

month. Therefore, States, local highway 

authorities, and railroads should 

identify which highway-rail grade 

crossings are equipped, or intended to 

be equipped, with a highway traffic 

signal pre-emption interconnection. If 

so equipped, railroads should ensure 

that the circuit plan shows the actual 

interconnection and the designed preemption time. Railroads should also 

ensure that the interconnection is in 

place and the train detection device (or 

equivalent) is programmed or equipped 

to provide the appropriate designed preemption function. 

While FRA regulations require the 

testing of highway traffic signal preemption interconnections at least once a 

month, this requirement has historically 

only been applicable to the proper 

functioning of the railroad’s control 

circuit to the highway traffic controller. 

While inspecting the highway traffic 

signal pre-emption interconnection, the 

actual operation of the highway traffic 

signal should be observed. Railroads 

should not rely solely on the operation 

of a relay or the opening of a control 

circuit to the traffic signal control 

housing. In fact, the preferred method of 

testing highway traffic signal preemption is by observation of a train 

movement and of the actual preemption function. Therefore, FRA 

recommends that railroads conduct 

comprehensive joint inspections of the 

highway traffic signal pre-emption 

interconnection with State and local 

highway authorities. These 

comprehensive joint inspections should 

be conducted when the highway-rail 

grade crossing active warning system is 

placed in service, whenever any portion 

of the system which may affect the 

proper function of the interconnection 

is modified or disarranged, and at least 

once every 12 months, during which 

observation of the actual pre-emption 

function and its effect on the highway 

traffic signal system can be made. These 

comprehensive periodic joint 

inspections should also include an 

inspection of the timing and operation 

of highway traffic signal systems that 

are interconnected with highway-rail 

grade crossing active warning devices, 

in order to ensure that the highway 

traffic signal system responds 

appropriately to the railroad control 

circuit and as designed. By conducting 

comprehensive periodic joint 

inspections, the railroad and State and 

local highway authorities can work 

together to observe and verify proper 

functioning of all necessary components 

of the highway traffic signal preemption upon activation of the 

highway-rail grade crossing active 

warning system. 

Neither the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) nor FRA 

require the retention or installation of 

railroad or highway signal recording 

devices at highway-rail grade crossings 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
60864 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Notices 

equipped with active warning systems 

that are interconnected with highway 

traffic signal systems. However, in 

recognition of the critical role served by 

highway traffic signal pre-emption 

interconnections with respect to the 

proper functioning of a highway-rail 

grade crossing active warning system, 

States, local highway authorities, and 

railroads are encouraged to install 

railroad and highway traffic signal 

recording devices at all new and 

improved highway-rail grade crossings 

that have (or will have) active warning 

systems which are (or will be) 

interconnected with highway traffic 

signal systems. Railroad and highway 

traffic signal recording devices can 

provide a record of any anomalies 

associated with the operation of the 

highway-rail grade crossing active 

warning system and/or the highway 

traffic signal system, which may prompt 

further investigation. Thus, as noted by 

the NTSB, these recording devices 

should be capable of recording 

sufficient parameters to allow railroad 

and highway personnel to readily 

determine that the highway traffic 

signals and railroad-activated warning 

systems are coordinated and operating 

properly. 

States, local highway authorities, and 

railroads are also encouraged to 

maintain and upgrade existing railroad 

and highway traffic signal recording 

devices at highway-rail grade crossings 

that have active warning systems which 

are interconnected with highway signal 

systems. With respect to signal 

recording devices for highway-rail grade 

crossing active warning systems, older 

devices can record basic information 

such as approach time and estimated 

train speed. However, current signal 

recording devices for highway-rail grade 

crossing active warning systems can 

monitor a variety of system functions 

and provide reports on the ‘‘health’’ of 

the warning system, such as the status 

of the flashing light units, gate position, 

power supply, the presence of any 

grounded circuits, etc. Many modern 

traffic signal systems feature software 

that includes various event logs that get 

recorded in the traffic signal controller 

itself. These event logs are periodically 

retrieved by the central system software. 

Among the data retrieved would be any 

observed conflicts or preempts, as well 

as logs and diagnostics on the vehicle 

detector in-pavement ‘‘loops’’. 

Recognizing that data provided by 

signal recording devices can assist 

States, local highway authorities, and 

railroads with the maintenance of 

interconnected highway-rail grade 

crossing active warning systems and 

highway traffic signal systems, FRA 

recommends that States, local highway 

authorities, and railroads use the data 

provided by these recording devices 

during their comprehensive periodic 

joint inspections to determine whether 

further investigation of any recorded 

operational anomalies may be 

warranted. It should be noted that 

railroad and highway traffic signal 

recording devices may be eligible for 

funding through FHWA’s RailwayHighway Crossings Program (23 USC 

130). 

Recommended Action: Based on the 

foregoing discussion and to promote the 

safety of highway-rail grade crossings on 

the Nation’s railroads, FRA recommends 

the following: 

(1) Each State and local highway 

authority and railroad should conduct 

comprehensive joint inspections of 

highway traffic signal pre-emption 

interconnections when the highway-rail 

grade crossing active warning system is 

placed in service, whenever any portion 

of the system which may affect the 

proper function of the interconnection 

is modified or disarranged, and at least 

once every 12 months, during which 

observation of the actual pre-emption 

function and its effect on the highway 

traffic signal system can be made; 

(2) Each State and local highway 

authority and railroad should install 

railroad and highway traffic signal 

recording devices at all new and 

improved highway-rail grade crossings 

that have active warning systems which 

are interconnected with highway traffic 

signal systems; 

(3) Each State and local highway 

authority and railroad should maintain 

and upgrade existing railroad and 

highway traffic signal recording devices 

at highway-rail grade crossings that 

have active warning systems which are 

interconnected with highway traffic 

signal systems; and 

(4) Each State and local highway 

authority and railroad should use the 

data provided by railroad and highway 

traffic signal recording devices during 

their comprehensive periodic joint 

inspections of interconnected highwayrail grade crossing active warning 

systems and highway traffic signal 

systems to determine whether further 

investigation of any recorded 

operational anomalies may be 

warranted. 

States and local highway authorities and 

railroads are encouraged to take action 

consistent with the preceding 

recommendations to help ensure the 

safety of highway-rail grade crossings. 

FRA may modify this Safety Advisory 

2010–02, or take other appropriate 

action necessary, to ensure the highest 

level of safety on the Nation’s railroads. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

27, 2010. 

Jo Strang, 

Associated Administrator for Railroad Safety/ 

Chief Safety Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24702 Filed 9–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

United States Mint 

Senior Executive Service Combined 

Performance Review Board (PRB) 

AGENCY: United States Mint, Department 

of the Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

4314(c)(4), this notice announces the 

appointment of members of the 

Combined Performance Review Board 

(PRB) for the Bureau of Engraving and 

Printing (BEP), Financial Management 

Service (FMS), Bureau of the Public 

Debt (BPD), United States Mint (USM), 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau (TTB) and Financial Crimes 

Enforcement Network (FINCEN). The 

Board reviews the performance 

appraisals of career senior executives 

below the level of bureau head and 

principal deputy in the bureaus, except 

for executives below the Assistant 

Commissioner/Executive Director level 

in the Financial Management Service 

and Bureau of the Public Debt. The 

Board makes recommendations 

regarding proposed performance 

appraisals, ratings, bonuses, pay 

adjustments and other appropriate 

personnel actions. 

Composition of Combined PRB: The 

Board shall consist of at least three 

voting members. In the case of an 

appraisal of a career appointee, more 

than half of the members shall consist 

of career appointees. The names and 

titles of the Combined PRB members are 

as follows: 

Primary Members 

Wanda Rogers, Deputy Commissioner, 

FMS. 

Anita Shandor, Deputy Commissioner, 

BPD. 

Pamela J. Gardiner, Deputy Director, 

BEP. 

Andrew D. Brunhart, Deputy Director, 

USM. 

Mary G. Ryan, Deputy Administrator, 

TTB. 

Charles M. Steele, Deputy Director, 

FINCEN. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES